My sister's reaction to the episode was "they wasted two idols just to get rid of Phillip " as she was expecting them to get rid of a strong strategist (namely Andrea).

Which actually brings up a fair point - and really increases my respect for Boston Rob's gameplay (despite the fact that I don't like him) because he dragged the person that everybody did not like to the end and that contributed to his win. Every season (well some) there seems to be one (or more) people that the rest of the castaways do not like (for whatever reason). And quite often the inability of the majority to put up with and keep that person costs them in the end.

Last season is a good example. Skupin and Lisa threw away a million dollars because they were incapable of putting up with Abi for three more days.

Phillip was definitely playing a different role to last time, but nonetheless that alliance would be smarter to boot a stronger strategist like Andrea (although I'm so thankful they didn't).

Logged

1. Don't pick up the phone - You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.2. Don't let him in - You have to kick him out again.3. Don't be his friend - You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him. ♥

Wow, the arrogance of those three is vile and disgusting. They are so happy that they've gone from a 7-3 minority to a 6-3 minority. Congratulations on pulling off a memorable Tribal Council and now I can't wait to see one of you gone next week. Buh-bye.

It's not arrogance, it's a bro thing. I just roomed with 5 guys in a church basement for a week, and we'd probably all do that to. And not that i look at Coach as a smart player, but cutting off the head of the dragon can stir things up, and the remaining 6 may look at other options now that the dictator/exterminator is gone.

On another note, i think 1 idol will be rehidden, since only one was a merge idol, and one was from the tribal stage. But i would also understand if neither are rehidden.

Bromances are almost as annoying as arrogance. Nonetheless, I still found it extremely arrogant.

I'm actually surprised that the idols were rehidden at all. The last several seasons that didn't happen at all - unless they were rehidden but nobody could be bothered to look for it and/or could not find it. Still... it is a little strange.

Logged

1. Don't pick up the phone - You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.2. Don't let him in - You have to kick him out again.3. Don't be his friend - You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him. ♥

I think Phillip being gone makes for a better show. The theme of the first two merge episodes were people running to Phillip when someone was going against him, and that person would go home. Now that the dictator is gone, there will be more options for people and they don't have to worry about being told on.

Best decision ever by the amigos to take out Philip. Either Philip or Andrea would have been great picks. But Philip was obviously running the show.

I don't think that is remotely close to true. Andrea is obviously running things - or you could perhaps argue Cochran. Phillip thought he was running the show but I don't actually think that is the case. Phillip was running things on nuBikal when Andrea was nowhere to be found, but that was only for a 2-episode period.

Logged

1. Don't pick up the phone - You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.2. Don't let him in - You have to kick him out again.3. Don't be his friend - You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him. ♥

I'm doing some rethinking, and i think the best move would've been to get rid of Dawn. She's the one who's keeps telling on everyone, which makes people skeptical to turn on SR Us. In the next round, we already know Erik would vote for Phillip, and the 3 (plus Erik) would still have a good shot at persuading Sherri or Brenda to vote out Phillip or Andrea, without someone like Dawn there to tell Phillip about this.

Best decision ever by the amigos to take out Philip. Either Philip or Andrea would have been great picks. But Philip was obviously running the show.

I don't think that is remotely close to true. Andrea is obviously running things - or you could perhaps argue Cochran. Phillip thought he was running the show but I don't actually think that is the case. Phillip was running things on nuBikal when Andrea was nowhere to be found, but that was only for a 2-episode period.

"Andrea is obviously running things..." hmm, I don't remember you being in the show.

Remember edit plays a big part in the things you PERCEIVE and SEE. Ultimately, when it comes to needing to vote out somebody suddenly at last TC, Andrea's name was the first one thrown out (by Philip and almost Brenda agreed immediately, look at the power he holds). Nobody wants to play with her and smart Malcolm would have figured out Andrea might become the target soon. And since she has a loose r/s with Eddie, her chances of flipping is so much more than people like Dawn and Cochran, which they have tried to get but to no avail.

We don't exactly know who's running the show, but clearly it was either Philip or Andrea... and Philip is obviously the better choice here. Obnoxious, loud, rude... they even managed to turn Erik around to vote with them.

If you don't call that a smart move, I don't know what is.

Logged

"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

Best decision ever by the amigos to take out Philip. Either Philip or Andrea would have been great picks. But Philip was obviously running the show.

I don't think that is remotely close to true. Andrea is obviously running things - or you could perhaps argue Cochran. Phillip thought he was running the show but I don't actually think that is the case. Phillip was running things on nuBikal when Andrea was nowhere to be found, but that was only for a 2-episode period.

"Andrea is obviously running things..." hmm, I don't remember you being in the show.

Remember edit plays a big part in the things you PERCEIVE and SEE. Ultimately, when it comes to needing to vote out somebody suddenly at last TC, Andrea's name was the first one thrown out (by Philip and almost Brenda agreed immediately, look at the power he holds). Nobody wants to play with her and smart Malcolm would have figured out Andrea might become the target soon. And since she has a loose r/s with Eddie, her chances of flipping is so much more than people like Dawn and Cochran, which they have tried to get but to no avail.

We don't exactly know who's running the show, but clearly it was either Philip or Andrea... and Philip is obviously the better choice here. Obnoxious, loud, rude... they even managed to turn Erik around to vote with them.

If you don't call that a smart move, I don't know what is.

You're right, we can only judge based on what we see. We see three or more days condensed into an hour. But from what we have seen, it is not possible to draw a different conclusion. And I don't think she would flip, to be honest. It's possible, but unlikely, considering she is in control or at the very least, in semi-control of that alliance.

Last TC, they targeted Andrea, which was smart from their point of view. I don't understand why they flipped on that philosophy?

I don't think voting out somebody who would get 0-1 votes at the end is a smart move, over somebody who could get all the votes like Andrea, Dawn or Cochran. But I am happy that Andrea is safe, that's for sure.

Logged

1. Don't pick up the phone - You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.2. Don't let him in - You have to kick him out again.3. Don't be his friend - You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him. ♥

I really love Andrea and Brenda. Dawn is now my third favourite. Cochran and Sherri are just OK, but I like them. Erik is a boring waste of a Favorites slot. Eddie I don't mind too much. Really don't like Reynold or Malcolm.

Logged

1. Don't pick up the phone - You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.2. Don't let him in - You have to kick him out again.3. Don't be his friend - You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him. ♥

I really love Andrea and Brenda. Dawn is now my third favourite. Cochran and Sherri are just OK, but I like them. Erik is a boring waste of a Favorites slot. Eddie I don't mind too much. Really don't like Reynold or Malcolm.

Erik and Francesca were both waste of Favourites space. There were a whole load of great people after HvV like Jill, Colton and Alicia/Christina who had more fans and were at least more exciting than these two. Well, I'm being biased here about Christina... but she was such a shocker on her season.

Logged

"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

I've watched the episode a couple times over the past few days and I don't think Malcolm was being arrogant. I really think it was a mind game that he was playing with the other alliance. IMO it was more of a "so you think you've got all the power, now what...." It may have also been his first attempt to see if anyone would flip over to their side. Once they got Erik to jump onto their side voting for "Fill up" lol, they went from 7-3 underdogs to 5-4 (presuming Erik doesn't go back to the other side). All they need now is to convince someone in the other alliance that their alliance is going to turn on them and they will be in the majority. Whether it was arrogance or a strategic mind game will depend on what he does tonight and going forward. If he's a cocky punk back at camp; then, I read him wrong but I really think he was just doing it to mess with their minds and really throw the other side off their games.

Whether or not Phillip really was the mastermind or it's Andrea doesn't matter if everyone thought it was Phillip (including most of his own alliance); then, that's who had to go. Now if it really has been Andrea calling the shots all along she's in a tough spot.

I'm glad Phillip is gone. He was rude, delusional and just plain annoying to watch. I really don't know how he managed to stay as long as he did other than these players aren't that bright. The first time he "decided" unilaterally to "throw the challenge" in the middle of it should have been when he was voted out.

I think the others treated him as a joke and too be fair, Philip is really loyal. He says he wants to keep Laura around or keep an eye for her, but the moment he heard about her scrambling, she's gone. I think Philip just wanted to have safety nets but ultimately, he's loyal to the favourites.

Maybe they think bringing him to the F3 again, will be an easy win. Just like Boston Rob did.

Logged

"The Amazing Race shows the best and worst out of you. But if only negative things are shown, then it's probably you. - Jobby"

I think the others treated him as a joke and too be fair, Philip is really loyal. He says he wants to keep Laura around or keep an eye for her, but the moment he heard about her scrambling, she's gone. I think Philip just wanted to have safety nets but ultimately, he's loyal to the favourites.

Maybe they think bringing him to the F3 again, will be an easy win. Just like Boston Rob did.

That's really the only reason I could see for keeping him around, but if you keep losing and your tribe gets decimated before the merge your chances of making final 3 are slim. The way he was playing, he was just lucky that the favorites kept winning before they split up the tribes; otherwise, I think he would have been out pre-merge. I know it's purely speculation at this point because we'll never know what might have been, but had the fans gotten rid of the dead weight when they first started losing they most likely would have won a few more challenges. The only one who really hasn't had to worry about going home is Sherri.

I'll be the first to admit that I can't remember most of what happened in past seasons, but it seems like there are a lot more weak players still in the game than at this point in past seasons.

I don't think there are many weak players left. Andrea & Brenda have clearly shown they can go up against the guys and come out on top, especially with the IC that Brenda won. Cochran isn't strong, but he would be good at puzzle (and eating ) type challenges. Dawn isn't bad at challenges. I agree with Joab that Sherri is probably the only weak one/

Logged

1. Don't pick up the phone - You know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone.2. Don't let him in - You have to kick him out again.3. Don't be his friend - You know you're gonna wake up in his bed in the morning.And if you're under him, you ain't gettin' over him. ♥